"Public-Private Council for the Promotion of Appropriate Ivory Trade Measures" to Hold First Meeting - Toward thorough implementation of the trade control for ivory products and information dissemination regarding the trade control Joint Press Release with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

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"Public-Private Council for the Promotion of Appropriate Ivory Trade Measures" to Hold First Meeting - Toward thorough implementation of the trade control for ivory products and information dissemination regarding the trade control Joint Press Release with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

May 20, 2016

On May 24, 2016, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) will hold the first meeting of "Public-Private Council for the Promotion of Appropriate Ivory Trade Measures". The Council will bring together officials from related ministries and agencies, stakeholders from the ivory industry, e-commerce industry, information and communication-related associations, association for monitoring wildlife trade and experts to discuss thorough and appropriate implementation of the ivory trade control to allow for the sustainable use of ivory and ivory products and information dissemination regarding the trade control.

1. Purpose of the Council

In recent years, as international community's interest has been growing toward e-commerce which has become a common channel of trade in wildlife including parts of endangered species such as ivory and ivory products, this current situation has been addressed at relevant meetings of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) among other fora.

In light of this situation, it is important for Japan to make further efforts in diverse aspects such as enhancing appropriate implementation of the existing domestic trade control for ivory and ivory products, and to further disseminating relevant information to people in Japan and overseas.

In an effort to gather expertise from a variety of stakeholders in broad fields in order to continue to advance the efforts above, METI and MOE have established "Public-Private Council for the Promotion of Appropriate Ivory Trade Measures", and the Council will hold its first meeting on May 24, 2016.